WHO activates global registration for foreign medical teams

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Wednesday that a registration system for foreign medical teams (FMTs) was officially active.

This system will "ensure the quality of medical assistance provided during emergencies, as well as create a global standard for emergency health care services," said Dr. Ian Norton, chief of foreign medical teams with the WHO.

FMTs, comprised of doctors, nurses, paramedics etc. can be part of governments, NGOs, militaries and international organizations under the system, Norton said.

According to the rules, once a comprehensive vetting process has been carried out by the WHO, FMTs are then accredited within the system into three categories: outpatient emergency care, inpatient surgical emergency care and inpatient referral care.

Countries affected by sudden disasters will then be able to monitor FMTs entering their countries on relief missions based on their system-classification.

"This not only benefits affected countries, but also the teams themselves as well as major donors as the registry provides quality assurance to the work carried out by FMTs," Norton said.

The WHO said that the objective of the global FMT registry is to improve the quality of care provided, enhance coordination between clinical care teams and serve as an interactive forum between FMT providers and potential recipient countries.

This is particularly important during large-scale disasters such as the Haiti earthquake in 2010 or the 2014 Ebola crisis in West Africa.

The process will be streamlined by the global registration system as teams sent to such crises will be pre-approved to be able to provide time-sensitive assistance to specific emergencies.

The system ensures that registered FMTs abide to the WHO's classification and minimum standards, published in mid-2013 and was used successfully in the Philippines in November of that year.

Norton said he expects at least 150 organizations to register within the first year. Endti